Proposals
by Gambol Shroud
Summary: Weiss often considered her parents overbearing, but this was just ridiculous. Now she must choose: be engaged to a man she wants nothing to do with or choose someone she wants to be engaged with by the end of the year. Refusing to do either means she'll be disowned by her own family. And while Weiss thinks her situation is helpless, Ruby thinks otherwise. [Ruby/Weiss] [AU]


A/N: Well, here it is. The first chapter of my first multi-chapter fic, "Proposals." This is based off of the AU my first RWBY fic "Fortune Cookies" takes place in. While technically, the events of "Fortune Cookies" did happen in this AU, I decided to leave it as a one-shot since the events that occurred in it have little to no importance for this story's development. However, there is a reference or two to it in the first chapter just to tie together any loose ends that readers of "Fortune Cookies" may have been wondering about. Of course, like "Fortune Cookies," the main pairing is Ruby/Weiss except it's going to be a lot less subtle (it wasn't really that subtle in "Fortune Cookies" either to be honest, but whatever...).

I want to apologize if there's any grammatical errors. I don't have a beta, so chances are there will be one or two mistakes that went unnoticed during my revising process. (But since I finished this about an hour or so ago and it's almost 11 PM as I write this, I doubt I did a very thorough job of revising it.) Still, I hope you enjoy reading the first chapter of many to come! ...I hope.

Reviews are always appreciated! RWBY and its characters belong to Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth!

* * *

"Weiss!" Ruby exclaimed, holding the door open for the white-haired girl. Weiss noticed that the other girl was already in her pajamas, even though the sun hadn't begun to set yet. "I didn't think you were coming!"

"I didn't have anything better to do." Weiss declared, a large white bag hanging from her shoulder. Entering the house, she took off her boots and placed them on the mat where a few other pairs of shoes were.

Ruby closed the door with a smile. "I'm just glad you made it. Yang and Blake are watching Attack on Titan in the other room."

"Attack on what?" Weiss looked at Ruby with a confused expression on her face.

"It's an anime Yang and I watch." Ruby replied. "We're trying to get Blake into it too."

Weiss, still not exactly sure what the dark-haired girl was talking about, managed to let out an "okay" before being led down the hallway and into what appeared to be the den.

The large room was far from plain. The walls were painted a sky blue and the windows had long orange curtains hanging from it. The wall was adorned with framed pictures and even the ceiling had multiple posters sloppily taped to it. A flat screen TV was stationed in the far right corner and stood atop a pink entertainment center. An Xbox 360 was placed next to it and on the floor next to it was a bin filled with video games. The plush, lime green carpet was adorned with three sleeping bags. One red, one yellow, and one black. Blake and Yang, who were already in their pajamas like Ruby, were sitting on them and were sitting in front of a laptop. A long wire, presumably a charger, was attached to the laptop and connected to a socket in a nearby wall.

"Ruby, was it the pizza guy?!" Yang announced, twisting around enough to see both her sister and Weiss hanging outside the door. "Oh, it's just Weiss."

Weiss's eyes narrowed at Yang's uninterested tone. "Sorry to disappoint you."

Yang swatted the air next to her and remained oblivious to Weiss's sarcasm. "Don't worry about it! It would've been weird if it was the pizza guy since we haven't ordered pizza yet." Patting the spot next to her, she declared, "Now get your butts over here! You don't want to miss anymore of episode seven now, do you?"

"Oh come on, Yang! Weiss just got here!" Ruby protested, placing her hands on her hips. "Besides, she doesn't even know what Attack on Titan is."

The blonde gasped and returned to facing the laptop. "Roll out your sleeping bag and take a seat next to us, Weiss! You haven't lived until you've seen Attack on Titan!"

Rolling her eyes, Weiss turned to face Ruby and asked, "Where should I put my sleeping bag?"

Ruby's eyes widened. "You actually brought a sleeping bag? I thought you would bring an inflatable mattress or something..." Realizing that what she said would probably be perceived as rude, Ruby pursed her lips together to keep herself from talking again.

"I would have, but I didn't think there would be enough space for it." Weiss said, completely dismissing Ruby's 'rude' comment.

"Wait, you actually have an inflatable mattress?" Ruby asked, genuinely surprised.

Weiss nodded. "Of course. Who doesn't?"

Ignoring the response, Ruby directed Weiss to the spot next to her sleeping bag. "I saved you a spot next to mine." she stated rather sheepishly. She turned her head to glare at the other two girls upon hearing their stifled giggles.

"That was considerate of you, Ruby." Weiss replied as she unzipped her bag and pulled a white, puffy-looking cylinder that was probably her sleeping bag. As Weiss rolled it out, Ruby noticed it was covered in little, ice blue snowflakes. Ruby had previously committed to memory that Weiss loved snowflakes, but she reminded herself one more time.

"I'm surprised you actually came over Weiss." Ruby admitted in an attempt to make small talk. "When I called you before, you made it sound like you weren't coming."

"Yes. Well, something came up." Weiss responded curtly.

Ruby tilted her head slightly with an innocent expression on her face. "What came up?"

"It's none of your business, okay!" Weiss snapped. Her near shout caught the attention of both Blake and Yang and even caused Ruby to take a step back.

"Woah, Weiss. What's with the attitude?" Yang asked with a nervous laugh.

Weiss's eyes widened when she realized how strange her outburst must have seemed just now. She shook her head and got back to smoothing out the creases on her sleeping bag. "I... It's nothing. Don't worry about it." The other three girls didn't seem too sure, but they didn't ask Weiss anymore questions.

Ruby and Weiss eventually made their way over to the laptop and sat next to Yang and Blake who had already gotten back to watching Attack on Titan. The air was still a little tense, but this melted away as Ruby gave Weiss a quick recap of the show so far. Weiss tried to keep up with the dark-haired girl, but she was only able to catch some of the main points: Titans (giant naked people that lacked reproductive organs for whatever reason) killed Eric's mom and now he wanted to kill all of them, but his sister ("my house" or something) doesn't want him to because she thinks he'll die trying.

Sure enough by episode ten, Weiss was totally lost. After having watched the three girls cry over Marco Polo's death, she wasn't sure how much longer she'd be able to handle watching this. The titans were some of the strangest-looking things she'd ever seen and she wasn't all too interested in the idea of having so many characters die. The only thing that made any sense in this show was the 3D Maneuver Gear's mechanics. Also, if mankind had been so busy being eaten by the titans, how were they able to build the three walls? Ruby tried explaining it all to Weiss at first, but after seeing that Weiss wasn't into it at all, she offered to order pizza over the phone with her.

"Get me an all-meat pizza; double the meat!" Yang announced suddenly after overhearing her sister ask Weiss about ordering pizza with her.

Blake rolled her eyes. "The amount of meat you can consume in one day is amazing." She turned to Weiss and Ruby for a moment, her face softening. "Just get me something without meat. I don't usually order pizza."

The blonde looked offended by Blake's remark. "Well unlike you, I have boxing classes tomorrow! I need all the protein I can get!" Ruby could have sworn her sister's eyes turned red for a split second. She knew that the older girl had a short temper, but Blake didn't seem fazed by it in the slightest.

The raven-haired girl shrugged. "That's understandable, I suppose. Just make sure you eat other things too. No one can run on just protein forever." There was a half-smile on her face and Yang seemed to notice it since her face softened right away.

"Yeah, thanks _mom_." she replied, a small grin on her face now. She gave Blake a playful shove eliciting a chuckle from the other girl.

Ruby flinched at Yang's use of the word, 'mom,' Weiss noticed. It was no secret that Ruby and Yang's mom had left them shortly after Ruby had been born. It had left their father shattered to the point of working his life away, so that he was almost never home. Ruby barely remembered her mother, but she obviously had a lot of pent up resentment towards her.

"Come on, Weiss." she said rather coldly. Weiss followed Ruby out of the room and down the hallway.

After what Weiss had just faced in her own household, she was in no state to worry about someone else. Still, she felt bad for Ruby. Weiss had never known the pain of being abandoned by a parent. Her circumstances were different after all. Sure, while she did have both of her parents it felt like they would try to abandon her at times. She was definitely feeling that right now, especially after what her father had told her. She clenched her hand into a fist, not wanting to remember any of the harsh words he had said her.

"Weiss, are you feeling alright?" Ruby's voice sliced through Weiss's thoughts and when the white-haired girl looked up she saw Ruby staring at her with obvious concern. They were no longer walking and they were standing right outside the kitchen door. Ruby had a wireless phone in her hand now, making Weiss wonder how long she'd confined herself to her thoughts. Now that she thought about it, hadn't there been a phone in the other room? Why had they gone to the kitchen for a phone? Unless… Had Ruby been planning on questioning her here from the start?

Weiss shook her head, trying her best not to shout at Ruby again. "It's nothing. Really." she managed, not sounding very convincing.

Crossing her arms, Ruby looked at Weiss with a stern expression. "Weiss, I'm your friend. You know you can tell me anything that's on your mind." Weiss knew Ruby wouldn't let up at this point, so she gave in.

The heiress forced herself to relax a little after Ruby's statement which she had silently admitted was true. "I got into an argument with my parents." Weiss grumbled.

Ruby's face seemed to soften a bit. "About what?"

The white-haired girl kept her eyes on the wooden floor. "They..." Her voice trailed off. She wanted to tell Ruby to stop prying. She didn't want to talk about it. This is Ruby though, she thought. Besides, she'd already snapped at her once today. It wouldn't be fair to keep her in the dark much longer. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "They're trying to make me marry one of their business associates."

Ruby's eyes widened and her mouth formed a small 'o' of disbelief. "No way, Weiss. That's awful!" she declared. Weiss prayed that the other two girls weren't able to hear of this.

"Yeah. I said something similar to my parents." Weiss bit her lip. Actually, she had said something along the lines of how this wasn't the Middle Ages and that there was no way she was going to go along with marrying someone she despised. "My parents say they want me to marry him because he's about as wealthy as we are, so it would be a good business opportunity. Well, I think it's because they can't stand the idea of a _girl_ taking over their company after they die." She sniffed with a look of displeasure.

Ruby tilted her head to the side, raising an eyebrow. "Aren't you a little young to marry someone?" Weiss was only seventeen, after all.

Weiss sighed. "My parents will probably schedule the official marriage for when I turn twenty-one to avoid any negative publicity. The last thing Schnee Inc. wants is the media getting on their cases for marrying off their seventeen year old daughter to some guy in his late thirties."

She looked back up at Ruby who now seemed to be deep in thought. She had a hand to her chin which made her look like a standing version of the Thinker. "Can't you just say no?" she asked, as if it were that simple.

"Oh gee, I hadn't thought of that." Weiss replied sarcastically. Of course, Ruby didn't pick up on it and she received a look of genuine confusion from the younger girl. "Yes, I did try that." Weiss stated bitterly. "Of course, my father was outraged. He said that unless I found someone I wanted to marry by the end of the year, the arranged marriage was going to happen whether I wanted it to or not. If I still refused to go through with it, he told me he would..._disown_ me." The word 'disown' was said with so much disgust that Ruby shivered in response.

Ruby pursed her lips for a few moments. "So, I guess you're in a real tough spot now, aren't you?" she said weakly with a short, humorless laugh following it. Her eyes brightened suddenly and she turned to Weiss with a small smile on her lips. "I know! You could fake a relationship!" Ruby announced proudly. The dark-haired girl looked like she'd just figured out a cure for the common cold and as cute of an idea it was, Weiss was pretty sure it wouldn't work. Besides, who would she even date?

"Ruby, as nice of a thought it is, my parents would probably make me marry whoever it is I'm dating." She put air quotes around the word 'dating.'

Ruby frowned "Wait, why did your dad only give you until the end of the year to find someone you want to marry?" she asked.

An annoyed groan came from the heiress. "He _really_ wants me to marry this other guy."

The dark-haired girl frowned. "Who's the guy? Is he famous at all? Maybe I know him."

"Roman Torchwick." Weiss spat.

"Wait, you mean _the_ Torchwick?" Ruby asked, scrunching her nose. She remembered seeing him on the news and in magazines (apparently, he owns a weapon manufacturing business which would explain why he keeps popping up in her favorite magazine) a lot, but the media always made him look nicer than he really was. Most people think he's a rich heartthrob with a heart of gold, but he's actually a huge player and a major snob. Her dad had worked with him on a project for a short while and the one night she, Yang, and her father had gone out for dinner with Roman, he'd left with a black eye (courtesy of Yang). "That guy is a jerk."

Weiss chuckled. "That's putting it lightly." Her face turned darker as she talked about him. "I guess I caught his fancy at a meeting we both attended. He introduced himself to me and my father must have seen an opportunity, because the next thing I know he's standing next to me and I have Roman's phone number. I never thought he'd actually text me, but the next thing I know he's texting me. I wouldn't have been all that bothered by him if it weren't for the amount of texts I got from him every day. My parents insisted that I text him back and not wanting to let them down, I did. Then, his attempts to date me started..."

The younger girl listened closely to Weiss's relationship problems. Romance was never really her forte, but she did her best to understand the older girl. Now that she thought about it, Weiss had probably been texting Roman back when all four of them had gone to Gramp's Chinese restaurant. That had been almost two months ago and Weiss hadn't seemed too tense then, so perhaps they had been on better terms at that time?

"...and now he's bent on marrying me. I never should've continued communicating with him. If I hadn't, I might not be in this mess." Weiss finished, looking back up at Ruby for advice.

Ruby scratched the back of her head and offered Weiss a sheepish grin. "I don't know what to tell you, Weiss. I've never really been good with relationship stuff. You'd be better asking Yang what to do since she's dealt with Roman herself."

"What do you mean by that exactly?" Weiss asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Uh... Do you mean my relationship experience or Yang's experience with Roman?"

The heiress rolled her eyes. "Yang's experience with Roman, of course."

Ruby felt a bit hurt by Weiss's rude tone, but she answered her nonetheless. "Well, my dad used to work with Roman and my dad invited us to eat with him at this really nice restaurant. When we got there, Roman had tried flirting with Yang, but she wasn't interested in him at all. Halfway through dinner, my dad left to use the bathroom and right away Roman's demeanor changed. Like, he went from being just annoying to being totally mean. He started harassing Yang and she was doing her best to ignore him, but..."

"But what?" Weiss pressed. She seemed intrigued so far.

"He called her an 'unappreciative bitch,' so...she punched him in the face." Ruby managed to say. A small smile formed on her face when she heard Weiss laugh in response. "Needless to say, we got banned from that restaurant."

"Your sister definitely knew how to deal with him." Weiss chuckled.

Ruby shrugged. "Maybe she could punch him in the face again and tell him to leave you alone." Ruby would've offered to kick Roman's butt herself but, before she could, a new voice cut in.

"Punch who in the face?"

Weiss spun around to see both Blake and Yang standing behind them. Why hadn't Ruby noticed them coming and say something? "How long have you two been standing there?" Weiss's stomach felt like a bomb had gone off inside of her.

"Long enough to hear you two bring up some guy named Torchwick." Blake stated with her arms crossed. She looked like a disgruntled mother who just caught her kids with their hands in the cookie jar just before dinner.

"We were wondering why it was taking you two so long to order pizza, so we came to check up on you guys and make sure everything was alright. Then, we overheard you talking about how I decked Torchwick." Yang raised an eyebrow. "As hilarious as it was, why would I have to do it again?"

Weiss began to shiver, even though her body felt hotter than fire right now. She was going to have to tell them, wasn't she? Telling Ruby had been hard enough, but now she was probably going to have to tell the rest of her friends about her predicament. Before she could form a response, she felt someone intertwine their hand with hers and she turned to see Ruby standing next to her. She gave Weiss a gentle squeeze to reassure her and faced the other two girls confidently.

"Weiss is being forced into an arranged marriage with Roman Torchwick," Ruby paused for a moment to let her words sink in, "and unless she finds someone she does want to marry by the end of the year, she'll be given the choice to marry Torchwick or be disowned by her family."

Weiss cringed at how calmly Ruby was telling them all of this. How did the younger girl manage to sound so confident? Ruby was an inch shorter than the heiress and wearing rose red pajamas that had silly looking black puppies printed on them, but she looked like the bravest person who ever lived right now.

A few silence-filled moments passed before something in Yang's brain snapped and her eyes seemed to turn red for a few moments. "Oooh, I'll punch that creep into outer space the next time I see him!" she shrieked, raising a fist above her head. She looked like she was about to walk out the door and hunt Roman down, but Blake placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"It wouldn't make sense to go after him right now, Yang. You don't even know where he lives." Blake announced calmly, as though she were reading the blonde's mind. She turned to face Weiss and Ruby, her expression looking less harsh than before. "Weiss, is there any possible way for you to convince your parents to let you stay single without…disowning you?" She hesitated briefly before using the word 'disowning,' as though it might be capable of severely harming someone if not handled properly.

Weiss shook her head slowly. She felt tears beginning to form, but did her best to keep them from falling. It was hard for her not to cry though, especially after her dad had threatened to disown her if she didn't cooperate and get married. She was seventeen! She shouldn't have to worry about marrying someone yet! Not until she felt the time was right to discuss it with whoever her significant other was! Perhaps her parents only saw her as a bargaining chip. She remembered on numerous occasions she overheard her father's employees talking about how he had wanted a son, but got a daughter instead. A _daughter_. Like she was some consolation prize that no one wanted. To the heiress's dismay, she felt tears beginning to form at the corners of her eyes.

She felt Ruby give her hand another squeeze. "You know," she murmured, "you could always come live with us here. You wouldn't have to worry about your parents or getting married or dealing with Roman..."

Weiss smiled softly at the idea, but she shook her head again. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out so she closed it.

Ruby looked like she was about to protest, but Blake shot her a look. "Ruby, I know you want to help, but Weiss is already dealing with enough as it is. What we need to do right now is support her."

"If that's the case then let's support her RWBY style!" Yang declared happily, now looking like a pyromaniac who had just been given the job of lighting fireworks on the Fourth of July. Needless to say, everyone else seemed a bit worried, but before anyone could protest, Yang had taken the wireless phone from Ruby and called someone.

"'Ruby' style?" Weiss looked to Ruby for an answer, but the younger girl only shrugged.

"R-W-B-Y." Blake stated with an amused smile on her face. "She took the first letters of our names and made an acronym with them. She insists it's a term we use whenever we're together."

"Sweet!" Ruby exclaimed with a grin. Her joy seemed to be contagious, because even Weiss felt a tiny smile form on her face. "Okay, Team RWBY! Let's make this the best sleepover ever! Blake, you go help Yang with getting snacks and ordering pizza. Weiss and I will pick out some movies and video games to keep us entertained!"

Blake looked confused and stammered, "W-wait, what kind of pizza do you two want!"

Ruby had already begun to dash back down the hallway, pulling Weiss along with her. "Surprise us!" Ruby called out, leaving a slightly dazed Blake behind.

After a few moments, they were sitting in front of the pink entertainment center, looking through the video game bin and movie options. It took a few moments for Weiss to realize that Ruby was still holding her hand. "Um, Ruby, you're uh..." she mumbled, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink.

Ruby seemed to notice what Weiss was talking about right away and blushed a bit, pulling her hand away. "Oh, um, sorry about that." Weiss reassured her it was fine, but they continued to act nervous for the next couple of minutes or so.

Eventually, they agreed on watching Spirited Away and Rise of the Guardians (Ruby would have also picked a scary movie, but Weiss wouldn't allow it). They'd play GTA V afterwards and the last two awake would get to play Portal 2. It was a Saturday, so anyone falling asleep before the crack of dawn seemed unlikely. Besides, anyone who fell asleep early on risked waking up with a cartoon-y mustache drawn on their face, courtesy of Ruby or Yang.

Yang was the first to return from the kitchen with Blake close behind her. She held the wireless phone in her hand victoriously with a triumphant expression. If Ruby didn't know better, she'd say Yang just won the lottery. However, Yang always had that expression after ordering an extra-large pizza.

Ruby's smile wavered. "Yang... You didn't..." she said in disbelief. Her eyes widened as she saw her sister's sparkle mischievously. She stood up, her hands doing most of the talking. "Yang, are you crazy?! There's no way we'll be able to eat all of that!"

Yang snickered. "You said 'surprise us.' They did say that, didn't they Blake?" Blake gave a curt nod, her scowl making it obvious that she didn't want to be a part of this.

Weiss, who still sat on the carpet, turned to stare up at Ruby with a look of confusion. "What are you guys talking about?"

Ruby swallowed the lump in her throat. "She ordered..."

"The Big One!" Yang finished with the excitement of a child on Christmas Day.

Weiss, still confused, replied, "The what?"

Yang didn't seem to be phased by Weiss's confusion and enthusiastically repeated, "The Big One!"

Ruby seemed to notice Weiss's confusion as she explained, "At this one pizzeria, they'll send over some guys with a giant pizza and if you finish it in an hour it's on the house. No one's ever been able to eat it all in one sitting though."

"Just how big is 'big,' Ruby?" Weiss asked. Her voice was beginning to quaver, but she did her best to hide her nervousness with a stern expression.

"Um..." Ruby bit her lip, preventing herself from continuing.

She remembered the night Yang had ordered the Big One and that night had not ended well. Not because Yang had thrown up (she did later on, but that's not why) or anything, but because she hadn't been able to finish it in an hour. The delivery guys could have let her down a little nicer, but after spending an hour in a room with a seemingly predatory blonde (Yang is every pizza's worst nightmare), Ruby would be anxious to leave too. Still, Yang was furious with them when they said her time was up. Luckily, Ruby was able to hold her older sister back long enough for the pizza guys to run out of the house. Thank god they'd charged the pizza to the debit card. That whole ordeal was beside the point though.

"Let's just say it was too big for Yang to finish." Ruby finally answered, earning a gasp from Weiss.

Blake's eyes had widened in response. She had seen Yang eat plates of food fast enough to make Sonya Thomas jealous, so if she couldn't eat 'the Big One' within an hour, surely none of them would be able to. Ruby considered Blake a fast eater, but this was no spring roll.

Yang rolled her eyes. "That was just because I didn't have a plan."

"_You_ have a plan?" Weiss raised an eyebrow, suddenly intrigued.

Yang nodded proudly. "Yup! We're all going to eat it!" There was a chorus of groans from the three other girls, but Yang ignored it. "Come on! I'll eat the majority of the pizza and you guys can finish what I can't! Of course, we'll all have to eat at the same time if we want to finish it before the hour is up. So you guys can take one side of the pizza and I'll work on the other side."

Blake tilted her head slightly. "Wait, isn't only one person allowed to eat it?"

"That's just it! In the ad it says 'see if you can finish it.' It doesn't say anything about whether or not you can eat it with friends!" Yang rejoiced.

Ruby exchanged looks with Blake and then Weiss. "Do you guys think this'll work?"

Blake shrugged. It was possible, but there was still a chance that there was a rule preventing anyone else from participating. "...I don't see why not."

"I'm still not all for the idea, but alright." Weiss grumbled, folding her arms defiantly.

"Alright!" Yang cheered. The blonde seemed finished with the topic as she moved on to a different matter. "We have at least an hour to kill while they prep the pizza, so what do you guys wanna do until then?"

* * *

"Oh come on, Cinder. Can't you just give me a little more time?" The voice belonged to Roman Torchwick who was currently leaning against a bar table at a nightclub. He wore his signature white coat and a feathered bowler hat which were his two favorite accessories. His cane was a personal favorite too, but he hadn't thought he'd need it, what with it being a nightclub and all.

The combination of the dim atmosphere, the garish flashing lights of the dance floor, and the insufferable music blaring from the DJ's speakers were giving the redhead an immense headache. However, the woman standing next to him looked at him in a way that suggested that he'd be dealing with something much worse than a headache if she'd heard his request correctly.

This woman, Cinder, had a fiery aura surrounding her that was unseen, but felt. She had jet black hair complimented by smooth, pale skin and bright amber eyes that, if you were to stare too long at, sparkled with a mischievous fire. She wore a blood red, long sleeved dress that was adorned with strange markings and showed off her shoulders, successfully completing her intimidating look. She drummed her fingers against the bar table properly and she held a near empty martini glass in her other hand. One of her glass slippers tapped against the floor of the nightclub and she glared at Roman as though she was deciding how she should kill him.

Much to Roman's surprise, Cinder's expression softened ever so slightly and she turned her head so that she was able to glare at the bartender who was cleaning some glasses with his back facing them. Her glare intensified when the bartender showed no signs of turning their way anytime soon. Perhaps he was intimidated by Cinder and didn't want to face her or he was too oblivious to notice the dark-haired woman that was currently glaring daggers into his backside.

It was obviously Roman's first guess as when Cinder spoke to the bartender he noticed the other man begin to tremble. "Excuse me, as much as I love how clean you are, I'd love it even more if you were to fetch me another martini." Her voice was smooth and melodious, possibly even carrying a note of flirtation, but Roman knew better than to trust that voice. No matter how sweet she sounded, how she spoke just made her even more intimidating.

The bartender seemed to muster up his courage and turned to face her, his body still trembling quite a bit. He attempted to compose himself several times and his apparent struggle elicited an amused chuckle from Cinder. The unnerving sound made the bartender flinch and he began to wipe at the table in an attempt to distract himself from Cinder's soul-piercing gaze. "W-what would you like?"

The black-haired woman looked away for a moment to consider her response and shrugged before turning back to look at the bartender with a wicked grin and a malicious glint in her eyes. "Make me something that suits my personality."

Roman nearly spat out some of his own drink upon hearing Cinder's request. He immediately felt sorry for the bartender. If he knew Cinder's habits well enough by now, which he probably didn't but it was still a good guess, she'd end up spilling the contents of the drink given to her back onto the bartender if she didn't like it. If it was too sweet, Cinder hated it. Too bitter? Cinder hated it even more. When it came to her loaded request for a personalized martini she was never satisfied. Then again, when was _the_ Cinder Fall _ever_ satisfied?

'Being a model is so stressful, Roman.' she had said to him once a while back. 'Everyone has a warped perception of you. You're either a walking pair of breasts without a brain or a stuck-up bitch that's too good for anyone.' She had offered him a sly smile at this point. 'As you can tell, I'm neither of those things. I'm much better.'

Roman had his thoughts cut into when he felt a shockingly cold hand shake his shoulder a little too forcefully. Sure enough, the hand belonged to Cinder. He turned his head in her direction nervously and his forest green eyes met her glowing amber ones for a brief moment before he looked away. "Sorry to interrupt your daydreaming, Roman, but we still have much to discuss." She let go of his shoulder and proceeded to pick up her freshly concocted martini, all while looking at Roman expectantly.

Roman narrowed her eyes at her. Why was she looking at him like that? Wasn't _she_ the one that wanted to talk to _him_? "What is it?"

Cinder rolled her eyes at him and replied simply, "Tell me why you need more time."

Roman felt queasy suddenly. "Oh, uh…" He was beginning to tremble like the bartender had. "You see… The…situation…seems to have been compromised." He did his best not to stutter, but hiding his nervous body language was another issue.

The dark haired woman narrowed her eyes at Roman and any traces of a smile were gone. "Compromised? How so?"

"Well…" Roman bit his lip before he could continue. If he said this wrong, he might end up actually needing his cane to walk. He took a deep breath in an attempt to settle his nerves and then exhaled. "You see, Ms. Schnee isn't…that interested in me. Even though her parents are all for our engagement, she's refusing to cooperate. Her father tried to coerce her into it, but now they have this stupid bet going until the end of the year. I doubt she'll be able to win the bet, of course, but I'll need a few months to make sure she doesn't. If she does, she'll be able to marry someone else and that's not what we're after."

Cinder was now grimacing at the ginger. "What were the exact terms of this bet, Roman?"

"E-excuse me?" Roman stuttered, trying his best to look at anything but Cinder.

"The terms of the bet, Roman." Cinder hissed. "Tell me."

"Just give me until the end of the year! I promise you, she'll never win the bet!" Of course, they had more problems than just that, but Cinder was furious enough already, so it would be best to mention this later.

Flames seemed to flicker in Cinder's eyes for a few moments, but instead of pressing the issue, she turned back to face the bar. She hadn't tasted her martini yet, which Roman was grateful for since it meant that she'd soon be directing her fury toward someone else. She lifted the martini glass to her lips and tasted it. Mid-sip, she stopped and pulled it away from her mouth while bearing a grim expression.

"Gross." she stated simply before turning to dump the glass's contents onto Roman, much to his dismay. The reddish alcoholic beverage dripped down from his hat and splattered all over his expensive coat and drenched his bangs despite his hat's rim. The liquid smelt of way-too-sweet cranberries and the familiar pungency that most alcoholic beverages had. Thankfully, no one had seen what happened aside from the bartender who looked astonished to say the least.

Cinder slammed the martini glass back onto the bar table and stood, glaring at Roman. "You have until the end of the year to wrap up our little deal. If you're unable to, I'll intervene." She glared at him as though he were an insignificant fly in her bowl of soup. Eventually, she added, "Sometimes, you light too many unnecessary candles, Roman. This'll be the last time I blow them all out. For good." That said, Cinder took off after depositing some money onto the bar table, leaving Roman in a puddle of cranberry martini with nothing but his stained clothes and fear.


End file.
